There is little agreement about a definition of emotion. Not all of those who
study emotion even think it necessary to make their own definition explicit. None
have explained how they distinguish the boundaries of emotion, how emotion
differs from reflex, motive, mood, or attitude. The last half of this chapter
proposes ten characteristics which can help in beginning to define what distinguishes emotion from other psychological states. These characteristics are
based in part on my earlier work, (with Wallace V. Friesen) on universals in
facial expression. I will summarize that work before describing our current
research--on voluntary and involuntary expression, emotion-specific autonomic
nervous system activity, and startle reactions--which is the other source for my
ideas about the characteristics that distinguish emotion.

CROSS CULTURAL STUDIES OF EXPRESSION

For more than 100 years scientists argued about whether facial expressions are
universal or specific to each culture. On one side Darwin ( 1872/ 1965), and,
more recently, Lorenz ( 1965) and Eibl-Eibesfeldt ( 1972), argued that facial
expressions are innate, evolved behavior. On the other side, Birdwhistell ( 1970). Klineberg ( 1940), LaBarre ( 1947), Leach ( 1972), and Mead ( 1975), argued that
facial expressions are instead like a language, socially learned, culturally controlled, and variable in meaning from one setting to another.

When Friesen and I began our study of facial expression we fortunately were
able to borrow from Carleton Gajdusek ( 1963), over 100,000 feet of film he had

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